Dec 12, 2007 (CIDRAP News) – Indonesia has reported its 115th human case of H5N1 avian influenza, in a 47-year-old man from Tangerang, according to news services.
The man is in critical condition in a Jakarta hospital, according to a Xinhua report today. Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported that he fell ill on Dec 2, was hospitalized in Tangerang Dec 5, and was referred to the Jakarta hospital Dec 10.
Tangerang, a western suburb of Jakarta, was also the home of a 28-year-old woman who died of avian flu Dec 10. Her case was recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) today.
Joko Suyono of Indonesia's avian flu center said the 47-year-old man kept ducks at his home and had recently traveled to Medan in Sumatra and Pandeglang in West Java, according to a Reuters report today.
Suyono said two tests had confirmed the man's infection, and the agriculture ministry was investigating how he contracted the virus, Reuters reported.
Ninety-two of Indonesia's 115 H5N1 cases have been fatal. The WHO's global H5N1 count, which does not yet include the Tangerang man, stands at 338 cases with 208 deaths.
The WHO count shows 75 cases with 50 deaths so far this year, as compared with 115 cases and 79 deaths for all of 2006. The 2006 toll was the highest so far.
See also:
WHO statement on case of 28-year-old woman from Tangerang
http://www.who.int/csr/don/2007_12_12/en/index.html
